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11.16.2007

Rolling weekend coverage

APPEARANCE ALERT: I will be doing a WNSP show at 3:25 p.m. You can listen to the show by clicking this link.

Hey everyone. I'm breaking from protocol today, building a single blog that will stay up for the entire weekend. Auburn is off, has been off, and won't be back on the field until Monday. I won't have enough information to offer on a daily basis during this mini hiatus, so I'll just add stuff as necessary.

I will be updating frequently, but I will not be building new individual blogs until Monday.

OK. On with the show.

We don't sumbit to the Mobile Red Elephant Club's wishes here. We just strive to be the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

My segment on WNSP was pretty short today. Abbreviated, some might say. Sorry about that. I thought about it for a while and, you know, I don't have to do radio. I'm not obligated to do radio. And if I'm going to take the time to do the show, it's going to be somewhere I can talk openly about my opinions. It's clear that WNSP is not that place.

In the same vein, check out this quote from WNSP program director Tim Camp. It appeared in Thursday's editions of the Press-Register: "If the advertisers don't like the show, they are not going to sponsor it. And if we can't get sponsors for a show, it's not going to last very long. I can give you a laundry list of programs that used to be on WNSP that we have dropped because of a lack of advertisers. That is part of the business."

I know many fans loathe newspapers. Many of those reasons are legitimate. Still, we are far less likely, as an industry, to alter our stances based on an advertiser's wishes. We're the most autonomous media entity out there. Them's the facts.

11.15.2007

News of the day, 11/15

Hey everyone. Things are winding down here at Auburn. Today's practice was the players' final football responsibility before the team reconvenes on Sunday afternoon. Most players are planning a big weekend on the couch.

Jerraud Powers and Eric Brock are going to attend the Ben Russell-Decatur high school game on Friday. Quentin Groves and his wife, Treska, are headed for an undisclosed location for some "time away from football."

We don't strive to be adequate. We're the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

This one hits a little close to home. One of my best friends in the business, Mobile media maven Neal McCready, was fired from his post at WNSP-AM in Mobile late yesterday. I talked with him this morning. He said station management fired him for "not being pro-Alabama enough," which surely is an intriguing reason. I didn't know reporters at any legitimate outlet were obliged to promote a certain agenda.

This sucks. Neal is an outstanding broadcaster (in addition to his strong work at the Press-Register) and I always found him to be right down the line when it came to the Auburn-Alabama dichotomy. As someone who has spent hours and hours privately discussing the SEC with Neal, I feel qualified to say that he loathes all teams equally. I'm 100% sure he doesn't have an agenda. This is a pretty alarming situation that should be considered carefully by scrutinizing sports fans on both sides of the Iron Bowl debate.

I heard a funny story this morning from DE Sen'Derrick Marks, who is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet on a football team. Anyway, Marks was flabbergasted that Groves recently was named a finalist for a national sportsmanship trophy. Marks doesn't consider Groves particularly friendly with opponents.

During the Tennessee Tech game, Marks was hit in the back during a kickoff. He confronted the TTU player about the alleged misconduct. The player responded by apologizing to Marks, which was totally unexpected. Groves, apparently not satisfied with the gentle gesture, responded by saying: "Welcome to the big leagues." That drew a verbal warning from the officiating crew, which Marks considers proof that Groves isn't a good sport.

Groves disagreed, gleefully relaying a story about punching Georgia TB Knowshon Moreno during some pileups. That kind of stuff is common. It's funny to me how some of these players, Groves included, are portrayed as angelic guys who play the game cleanly all the time. No way. That's just not reality.

11.14.2007

News of the day, 11/14

BREAKING NEWS: Auburn releases 2008 football schedule. See below.

Hey everyone. I made a rare appearance on WMSP-AM (Montgomery) this morning for a brief chat with Barry McKnight and his sidekick. A great time was had by all. We discussed the Tuberville situation at length.

If you missed that segment, which probably didn't happen considering WMSP's substantial popularity, I also was on The Sports Monster in Birmingham on Tuesday afternoon. We discussed the Tuberville situation at length. Seeing a trend?

We have an agenda here: To make this the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

Auburn has finalized its 2008 football schedule. There were only two slots that weren't already discussed: the opener against La-Monroe and the annual November pastry. Tennessee-Martin gets the honors this time.

A HABOTN tip o' the fedora to (no city) Press-Register ace Evan Woodbery for pointing out that Kayne West's recently deceased mother, Donda, was a 1980 graduate of Auburn University. She died Saturday night after a plastic-surgery procedure.

I've received a few emails and a stray blog comment or two wondering why Tuberville and some of the players come off as being so cavalier about the Georgia loss. I don't blame the kids. They're basically regurgitating what the coaches tell them in most cases. Tuberville set the tone Sunday by identifying the UGA debacle as "just another ball game," so you can't then hold the kids liable for saying the same thing. That's double jeopardy or something. We need to get the HABOTN legal team on this ...

Some Auburn fans know the story behind Jerrel Jernigan and his recruitment last season. He was an all-state quarterback from Eufaula who wanted to play at Auburn. He's kinda short (5-11) and kinda small (175 pounds) but really fast. The Tigers liked him, but not enough to offer a scholarship. So he went to Troy instead. Larry Blakeney offered Jernigan a scholarship. No problem.

So far this season, Jernigan has caught 23 balls for 254 yards and three TDs. He's been earning steady playing time for five weeks now. He was a peripheral part of the scene prior to that.

He caught 11 balls for 102 yards and a pair of scores against Georgia two weeks ago. Could he have played at Auburn? Draw your own conclusions.

11.13.2007

News of the day, 11/13

Hey everyone. I didn't write anything for Tuesday's paper, which ends a long streak of everyday coverage. I will have something in Wednesday's editions about how the team is dealing with lingering disappointment from its recent disembowelment. You know what I'm talking about.

It's been a very interesting week at Auburn. I still can't get a feel for what will happen with Tommy Tuberville. I'll elaborate more on that below.

We're tempted to say the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net is just another blog, but we know better.

I'm getting the distinct feeling that Important People are not very happy with Tuberville right now. He still isn't providing even an ounce of confirmation -- even false confirmation -- that he intends to stay at Auburn. It's reasonable to infer that Tuberville believes he has leverage of some kind. He's still planning to meet with Auburn officials at season's end to discuss things. He wants multi-year contracts for his assistants, some assurances about facility upgrades and perhaps some extra cash.

I believe he had the upper hand last week. Now the Tigers are 7-4, fresh off a complete annihilation in Athens and facing a must-win game against Alabama. Does that sound like a coach on sound footing? A lot of people have been turned off by Tuberville's lack of future-career discussion during the past week. He's smart. He knows that his current position is creating disdain. It's reasonable to assume he's doing this on purpose.

11.12.2007

News of the day, 11/12

Hey everyone. Since the team is taking a few days off, I decided to follow suit. I'm cutting production back a tad this week, though I plan to keep the blow flowing with the meaningful news and analysis you've come to expect from HABOTN headquarters.

As an aside, I saw "Bee Movie" today. Not impressed. I know kid's movies often involve completely implausible plots -- that Shrek would get any action from a princess is laughable -- but Bee Movie was so far out that I couldn't even suspend my disbelief. I attended the movie with 16 kids from my daughter's class. They didn't see all that enamored, either. Just sayin'.

The Iron Bowl has been bumped to ESPN for a 7 o'clock kickoff on Nov. 24. I thought the game was destined for CBS. I was wrong again. So it goes. Night games at Auburn yield a festive atmopshere, though, and this should be a good game. The teams are even in my mind.

I received an email today from Gordon Borges, father of Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges, urging fans to stand behind his son and coach Tommy Tuberville in this era of uncertainty. Check out that link. Gordon Borges can out-bench me at 80 without question, so I'm happy to pass along his sentiments. His exercise tips are right on the money, too. I lost 110 pounds in 2004 basically doing exactly what he says on the website. Staying fit is easy. Getting fit is tough.

11.11.2007

News of the day, 11/11

Hey everyone. I'm sure you're in a chipper mood today after that fine exhibition from the Auburn Tigers on Saturday. I gotta say it was the most alarming meltdown I've seen. This is only my 10th season covering Auburn, though, so I'm sure Phillip Marshall remembers that 1903 game against the Montgomery YMCA or whatever.

Only kidding. He wasn't even born until 1910.

Not much to say aside from the fact that Auburn played terribly during the final 25 minutes of that game. I don't think anybody quit. I just think Georgia knows exactly how to exploit Will Muschamp's defenses -- he laid an egg while at LSU, too -- and this team is not good when the defense isn't stout. This offense looks nothing like a wishbone but it has the same overall effect: Slow-strike, time-consuming attack. It generally doesn't play well from behind because it's so gradual.

This is what Auburn has. Nothing can change that soon. These wideouts aren't suddenly going to become above-average players. The quarterback won't suddenly gain the ability to throw deep passes after five years of 10-yard slants. It's a piecemeal approach to offense. Even when it's on, it's barely good enough.

Thanks for stopping by to read the obituary, I mean, today's Auburn coverage at the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

Tuberville held his weekly press conference at 3 o'clock. He said three things that I would consider "classic" given the team's current situation.

Aside from the Hall-of-Fame comment in 1998 about not leaving Oxford unless it's in a pine box, Tuberville's Sunday assessment that the UGA-Auburn game is "just another ball game" is as wacky as it gets. Absolutely amazing.

a.) STATEMENT:"That was just another ball game yesterday. The one coming up is not just another ball game. This is the one that counts for Auburn, and we know that."FACT: Georgia is a big game when Auburn wins it, apparently a sideshow when UGA wins.

**BONUS QUOTE**From his Tuesday press conference (11/6): "I always tell the players that these next two games are ones that they will remember for a long time. I always tell the players that they may not remember that we went 7-3, but they will remember how they played, practiced and all the things that happen leading up to these games for the rest of their lives."

b.) STATEMENT:"We've been adequate on offense."FACT: Auburn currently is ranked ninth among Southeastern Conference teams in points per game. Auburn is 10th in total yards -- and has a two-yard cushion between it and 11th-place Vanderbilt. This isn't a trend. That was the 11th game of a 12-game season. This is reality.

c.) STATEMENT:"Our players and coaches could care less about what the media thinks about. It's their own agenda. It's not ours."FACT: I can say, with 100 percent certainty, that nobody in the Auburn media is eager to spend the next three weeks covering a coaching search that may or may not include Tuberville. There is no agenda. Newspapers in Texas report this stuff. We react to that. No agenda. Just ... life.

People who email me today asking about Tuberville's job status are getting the same answer: I'm guessing that he's planning to leave. That opinion is not based on facts yet. That is based on just how weird that press conference was today. Really awkward statements. Again didn't address the A&M situation despite a very blunt and direct question from TV's Mike Raita about the possibility of the A&M talk creating a distraction at Georgia. I remember how the Ole Miss people kept saying Tuberville was acting weird right before he left Oxford in 1998. A lot changes in nine years, no doubt, but things are not normal right now.